L.A. Not Very Manly, According to Study

Los Angeles is the one of the wimpiest cities in the nation, according to a 2nd annual study released by "America's Manliest Cities" and reported by NBC news. Sterling's Best Places, a survey company, conducted the study.

Out of 50 cities evaluated, Angelenos ranked only 48 on the toughness scale, but did manage to climb one notch above its ranking of 49 last year.

According to the study's website, each city is ranked on a point system based on specific criteria. The criteria, or "manly categories," as dubbed by the study, include sports, specifically the quantity and quality of a city's sports teams, lifestyles, concentration of retail stores (Black Angus and Home Depot yes, Bed, Bath and Beyond no), magazine subscriptions (Maxim yes, Oprah and Vogue no) occupations and salty snack sales. The study was commissioned by Combos Snacks, just in case you're wondering about the relevance of salty snacks in judging a city's manliness.

There was also a manly "kryptonite emasculating / criteria" that subtracted points for certain retail stores. Cities lost points if they have an overabundance of home furnishings stores, coffee shops, sushi restaurants and "modern male" apparel stores. With that in mind, blame the overabundance of Starbucks and H&M retail locations for lowering our masculinity factor.

The honor for the top manliest city goes to Charlotte, N.C.; while Portland, Ore. assumes the dubious title of the least manly city in the nation and probably the least likely to throw a perfect spiral.

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